Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley throws a touchdown pass to tight end Xavier Grimble against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Photo: Danny Moloshok, AP

Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley throws a touchdown...

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University of Southern California receiver Robert Woods, right, beats Arizona defensive end C.J. Parish to the end zone for an 82-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday, October 1, 2011. USC outslugged Arizona, 48-41. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Photo: Wally Skalij, MCT

University of Southern California receiver Robert Woods, right,...

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California's Keenan Allen, left, is chased by Washington's Cort Dennison in the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, in Seattle. Washington won 31-23. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Keenan Allen's eyes lit up at the prospect of being on the same field as Robert Woods and attempting to match USC's skilled sophomore receiver catch for catch in Thursday night's ESPN game at AT&T Park.

Of course, Allen is a sophomore wide receiver of some distinction for Cal as the Bears return to their home away from home for the start of a stretch of four games at China Basin over the next five weeks.

Woods and Allen are 1-2 in the Pac-12 Conference in receiving, justifying their five-star recruiting status from 2009.

"I definitely look forward to it," Allen said of Thursday night's game. "We're both good athletes. I met him at the All-American camp. We hung out. I'm going to come out there and compete. He's obviously faster than I am, but I can make some moves."

That's true on both counts. Woods, from Serra High School in Gardena (Los Angeles County), was a fixture at the California state track meet, finishing second in the 400 meters and third in the 200 in 2010. His times of 46.17 for the full lap and 21.01 for the furlong are by no means world class but on a football field, they're plenty fast enough.

"He's a great player," Cal head coach Jeff Tedford said. "He's about a third of their offense. They try to get him the ball every way they can. He's a very explosive guy. He's very fast, catches the ball exceptionally well, runs good routes and he's hard to get down."

Allen, by contrast, is no burner but he's as smooth as they come running downfield routes. That Washington cornerback Allen corkscrewed into the turf with three elegant moves on his 90-yard touchdown catch-and-run Sept. 24 is just now extricating himself.

In a 3-2 start, Cal's defense has been victimized repeatedly by big plays from skill-position players such as Colorado's Paul Richardson and almost anyone in an Oregon uniform. It was the same story a year ago, especially for USC as it romped to a 42-0 halftime lead over the Bears on the way to a 48-14 victory.

Then a freshman, Woods had seven receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns in proving to be someone the Bears could not cover. Fast forward a year and the song could be the same as Cal is expected to miss starting left cornerback Marc Anthony to a shoulder injury.

Freshman Stefan McClure could draw the assignment of Woods. In significant play at Oregon, McClure was put in one-on-one coverage several times and was on the receiving end of big plays.

"No matter who plays, it's always a challenge against those guys," Tedford said. "Woods is one of the best receivers in the country. They get the ball to him in a lot of ways. We have to do a good job of tackling."

A year ago at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Matt Barkley was more like a surgeon than a quarterback as he sliced up the Bears with 352 yards passing and five touchdowns in a commanding performance.

"That was definitely a long day," Tedford said. "We have to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Now a junior, Barkley is even better than he was last season. He's completing a little more than 70 percent of his passes for 1,587 yards and 14 touchdowns. If not for Stanford's Andrew Luck, Barkley would be regarded as the best quarterback in the Pac-12.

"He's got a lot of games under his belt now," Tedford said. "He's been running that offense for awhile. He played great against us last year. It's hard to improve on that. He was lights-out."

The Trojans were once celebrated for their regal procession of Heisman Trophy-winning tailbacks but that line came to an end with the tainted Reggie Bush era. USC is still on probation from various misdeeds of the celebrity culture cultivated by former head coach Pete Carroll.

Head coach Lane Kiffin's current Trojans are paying the price for what took place before they arrived, when the likes of Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg held sway on the practice field and at games.

What's left now are great players such as Woods and Barkley. Not a bad trade-off.

Game time: Cal's home game against Utah on Oct. 22 will have a 4 p.m. kickoff. CSN Bay Area will televise it.

QB Matt Barkley

6-foot-2, 220 lbs., Jr.

Com

Att

Yds

TD

Int

2010 vs. Cal*

25

37

352

5

0

2010 totals

236

377

2,791

26

12

Last game**

32

39

468

4

1

2011 totals

133

188

1,587

14

4

WR Robert Woods

6-foot-1, 180 lbs., Soph.

Rec

Yds

Avg

Lg

TD

2010 vs. Cal*

7

116

16.6

40

2

2010 totals

65

792

12.2

61

6

Last game**

14

255

18.2

82

2

2011 totals

55

747

13.6

82

6

*USC 48, Cal 14

**USC 48, Arizona 41

Notes: Woods is tied for first in the nation with 11 receptions per game, ranks second with 149.4 receiving yards per game and third with 203 all-purpose yards per game. Barkley ranks eighth in the nation with 317.4 passing yards per game